I was wondring if anyone has taken math 1M03 in the previous year and wanted to give me an outlook. I want to prepare myself before I start school but I am not sure but I should be studying for this course. Any Idea? Please help!

Hey there. I took Math 1M03 last year, as a requirement for my psych program. I never took calculus in high school, so I had to take Math 1K03 first semester, which was a HUGE help. It was basically everything that you learn in high school. I found this course very easy, and a very good help for 1M03. If at all possible, I recommend taking this course, although you probably can't if you've already done it in high school.

1M03 is totally different. Expect a tough, but totally doable course. I was very disappointed that I didn't take Math 1A03, because a lot of people were saying it was easier. I can't say for sure, though.

The first two weeks or so cover the basics from high school, slightly expanded. You'll cover differentiating logarithmic/exponential functions, and things like that. Lots of "e" and "ln", so it might help you to brush up on your logs/exponents ahead of time, to be completely familiar with them. After this short introduction, we moved into integration, which seems to be the main focus of first year university calculus. integration is the opposite of differentiation (you'll also hear antiderivatives). You'll learn basic integration, and then move onto more difficult problems, where you need a special kind of integration called substitution. This, as I was told, was as far as Math 1A03 went, yet this was all in the first month of Math 1M03 :S. You'll then go on to something called Integration by Parts, which is pretty tough if you don't pay attention in class. After that, you dive into multi-variable calculus, which I found pretty easy, but some others found hard. After that, you'll finish off with statistical calculus (finding the area under a normal distribution curve).

So that's the course summary. There are 3 "tests", and one final. I don't remember the percentage that they were worth (I think 20%/20%/20% and then 40 for the exam), however these were changed due to the overwhelmingly low class average. The professors did a very good job in making sure that everything was graded fairly, and the first test was very very hard. They then made it so your best test was worth 24%, and the others were worth 12%, which made the grades go way up. The remaining tests were considerably easier, and i expect the course will be layed out a little more fairly next year.

In terms of studying, just make sure you're very, very comfortable with:

differentiation (even things like the quotient rule, derivatives of e/ln, etc.)
limits (this will come in handy when talking about improper integrals

Just do the homework, study for the tests, and you'll be fine. I'm quite bad at math, and ended with an 11 (A) in this course. So don't fret -- it's not brutal as long as you prepare yourself.

Good luck, and I hope I could help

oh -- i forgot!

CHAIN RULE. make sure you know and understand that inside out.

Nice review mgallant. Who was your professor?

i had dr. moore, although i would definitely advise against him. he was too slow -- our class was 3 weeks behind the rest, and the material he taught wasn't very relevant to the tests. dr. lozinski wrote the tests -- i would recommend going to his lectures if at all possible.

1st year calc was ridiculous. I had calc in highschool, so got to skip 1k03 and head straight to 1m03. First of all, certain promises about this course weren't kept. The DeGroote Commerce Society hosted a little Q&A session forum with our course co-ordinator and this class was one of MAJOR discusssion. Essentially it was waaay harder than the supposed "hard" class, but not becuase of material. It was instead made difficult by a complete lack of communication between the course coordinator and the rest of the profs. You'd study "xyz" and end up with "123' on tests. I studied my ASS off for test #2 and was shocked at the result. Baddd news bears. Failed the first two tests in the course, then must've had a grading error because I went from having around a 50ish% to getting an 11 in the course. (miracle's do happen!)

Anyways long story short, follow mgallants advice and get in the lectures with the course coordinator. It'll be the most on pace, and will be the best indicator of what to expect on tests.

In regards to Dr. Moore, after I crapped on the first half of the course I approached him for help and he went over the tests with me one on one. Really nice accomodating guy in that environment. But in the classroom setting he's not that great.

Also talked to my academic advisor, and what happens almost every year in 1st year calc is the following: 40% of the class is basically failing, school realised it cant fail that many ppl, fail rate drops to 10-15%. No joke. Heard this from the lips of both my AA and Dr. Bontis at our Q&A forum.

Take 1A03, it's 10 times easier.

Originally Posted by mgallant

i had dr. moore, although i would definitely advise against him. he was too slow -- our class was 3 weeks behind the rest, and the material he taught wasn't very relevant to the tests. dr. lozinski wrote the tests -- i would recommend going to his lectures if at all possible.

hey I have Moore as my prof for the lectures but lozinski for the tutorials...is that a good thing?

It's certainly not a disadvantage. If you don't find Dr. Moore's lectures beneficial, as has been said you can go to another professor in an attempt to find a prof. more suited to your style of learning. You're never "Stuck" with the prof you have if there are multiple for the same class. There's a legendary first year Eng Calc prof and EVERYONE goes to his lectures, filling the aisles etc. despite the fact the majority of them no doubt have another professor assigned to them.

Ohh Dr. Moore. I agree with James on that he is pretty slow.. and boring lol. And he wears then same lilac coloured shirts haha. Some days it's short sleeve, some days it's long sleeve.

Don't forget the shorts! With the sandals! And the socks...all the way to the freakin moon.

Hey guys. I'm a 4th year student who did 3 years of Kinesiology (with almost exclusively Math electives), and then decided I prefered math so I switched to Math this year...so I hope I can help with a bit of input (: I've also TA'd the engineering calculus and linear algebra courses at some point.

So here's the comparison:

1) Math 1X03 / 1XX3 - This is for people who major in math, but I believe anyone can take it. As such, the depth of the material is superior to the other courses (I'll explain what this means at the end of my post). If you don't like math, avoid 1X03 / 1XX3.

2) Math 1N03 / 1NN3 - This is exclusively for Engineers. Since Engineers merely need calculus as a tool and not as a fundamental concept (like mathematicians) the material in calc is glossed over, very rapidly. The level of understanding isn't as high, but you better be able to crunch numbers, and problem solve. (There is no abstract math presented in this course)

3) Math 1A03 / 1AA3 - Less depth than 1X03 / 1XX3, but more depth than any other course combination. Some abstract ideas are looked into in a more detailed way. You may encounter questions such as 'what is a limit exactly?' So in other words, in 1A/1X, you'll learn a bit about WHY calculus works...in the other options, you'll merely learn how to compute derivatives, integrate, and other computational aspects.

4) Math 1M03 - This is quite frankly the 'easiest' of the 4 streams mentioned thus far...BUT...some (I would assume the minority) of people may find 1A03 easier. Here's why:

MGallant is correct: more material is covered in 1M03 than 1A03, since 1A03 / 1AA3 stretches the 'first year calculus experience' if you will, out over a full year while 1M03 only lasts one semester. So by the first week of 1M03, you will have learned a greater mass of material than in 1A03.

But...it's important to note that this is very watered down material. There is hardly any theoretical depth expected in 1M03. Some might say their prof was bad, and I can't control the prof (I think Dr. Lozinski is awesome...probably the best prof the course has this term. Sit in on his lectures if possible)...but in principle, the 1M03 course is designed to 'skim across' more material in one semester than 1A03.

As I said, 1A is stretched out over 1A/AA. So at the end of BOTH 1A and AA...you will have covered more material than 1M03. So now you have a choice, depending on what kind of learner/student you are:

1) Are you horrid when it comes to math? - Take 1M03. 1A03 introduces deeper concepts and reasoning that isn't required in 1M03. Most people can cover 'more material very superficially' with greater success than less material, down to the nitty gritty details.

2) Are you pretty good at math, it's just not what you'd like to do? - Take 1A03. The extra details shouldn't pose much trouble, and it will move at a more comfortable pace.

3) Are you pretty good at math, and it MAY be something you're interested in? - Take 1X03.

4) Are you an engineer? - No choice in the matter: Take 1N03.

5) Do you want to do physics? - Take 1A03...it provides the perfect amount of depth, without going overboard (so to speak).

Unfortunately, I have no idea about 1LS3...it's a fairly new course that I've never taken or TA'd. It may be a better choice for some readers. Make sure you look into that, if you're in the Life Sciences.


EDIT: Also, be weary of 'class averages' as a measurement of which course is easier. I know the average grade in 1A03 is probably higher than that of 1M03...but I also know more people who take 1A03 have a well-formed math background, than those who take 1M03. I also know way more students take 1A03 than 1M03...so in other words, if the people who took 1A03 took 1M03 instead, perhaps the 1M average would be higher. (I don't mean to make a definite claim...I just mean that statistics (like averages) can be misleading. This is a good example. 1X03 has very few students in it, and has the most abstract material of any first year calc courses, and yet I'm pretty sure it has the highest average as well)

As someone who has taken BOTH, I feel I might have a better stance on answering this question. I dont know about the rest of you, but I found that I learned more new material in 1M03 then I did in 1A03. The majority of my friends took 1A03 and when they saw the content I had for 1M03, they were all like WTF. 1M03 had more word problems, unlike 1A03, which I found was straightforward math, just the way I like it.

It's also personal preference and how calculus was taught to you in high school. Some people like application questions, while others, like me, prefer knowledge questions. For me, a teahcer in my high school taught us integrals after school on some days, since he knew we'd be leanring it in uni. I found 1A03 was EXACTLY like high school, except for integrals, which I learned in high school anyways. My friend who also went to a high school in Oakville, like me, was taught calc differently, and when she came to Mac and did 1A03, she struggled because many concepts weretn taught to her properly in high school.

I still stand by my opinion that 1A03 is easier than 1M03. But really.. take your chance and just pick one. If you feel you dont like it, drop it right away. I made the mistake of keeping ridiculous classes instead of dropping them, even if I knew that they would be crap. Also I'd like to point out that I feel part of the reason the average is higher for 1A03 may be because of the fact that the material isn't really that new. Unless you struggled profoundly with high school calculus, I found most of my friends who took 1A03 (including myself) found it to be quite a joke.

Originally Posted by samantha__

As someone who has taken BOTH, I feel I might have a better stance on answering this question. I dont know about the rest of you, but I found that I learned more new material in 1M03 then I did in 1A03. The majority of my friends took 1A03 and when they saw the content I had for 1M03, they were all like WTF. 1M03 had more word problems, unlike 1A03, which I found was straightforward math, just the way I like it.

It's also personal preference and how calculus was taught to you in high school. Some people like application questions, while others, like me, prefer knowledge questions. For me, a teahcer in my high school taught us integrals after school on some days, since he knew we'd be leanring it in uni. I found 1A03 was EXACTLY like high school, except for integrals, which I learned in high school anyways. My friend who also went to a high school in Oakville, like me, was taught calc differently, and when she came to Mac and did 1A03, she struggled because many concepts weretn taught to her properly in high school.

I still stand by my opinion that 1A03 is easier than 1M03. But really.. take your chance and just pick one. If you feel you dont like it, drop it right away. I made the mistake of keeping ridiculous classes instead of dropping them, even if I knew that they would be crap. Also I'd like to point out that I feel part of the reason the average is higher for 1A03 may be because of the fact that the material isn't really that new. Unless you struggled profoundly with high school calculus, I found most of my friends who took 1A03 (including myself) found it to be quite a joke.

I took both courses as well and I agree with the bolded part. However, in my case I found 1M03 much easier (got a 12) while I did horrible in 1A03.

I'm still saying the comparison is as follows:

1A03 - Less material, greater depth
1M03 - More material, less depth

I mean you spend the same number of hours regardless of which you choose. If there are fewer topics covered in 1A, then there is more time spent per topic. You're not going to just twiddle your thumbs during this extra time, you will actually go into more detail on the covered topic.

If you can grasp the required depth of math, you'll do better in 1A since the relative pacing is better. If you can't, you'll have trouble in 1A. The reason I'm making this distinction is because there are some people who just can't grasp math...for many people this is a reality. So these sorts of students are better off doing applied problems (like word problems) and not thinking about why things work too much, while students who are capable, are better of asking themselves why the things they do work.

No, I didn't take both 1M and 1A...instead I took 1A and 1AA. But having tutored a few students in both, 1M03 and 1A03, I know a 1M student would ask me questions such as "How do I integrate this?" or "What am I doing wrong when computing this derivative?"

And although I was asked the same sort of questions by a 1A student, I was never asked things like "How do we know this is a continuous function?" or "What's a limit?" or "How do we know the Fundamental Theorem of Calc is true?" or any other more theoretical/conceptual questions by a 1M student. A 1A student may ask these sort of questions.

And although the last question is not answered until third year math, it's evident that the appropriate foundation is being laid (in 1A03). If you can handle questions like the ones I just mentioned, take 1A03. If not, take 1M03.